Americans United - Creation Museumhttps://www.au.org/tags/creation-museum
enBoatload Of Lies: Ark Encounter Gave Ky. Officials Inflated Attendance Projectionshttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/boatload-of-lies-ark-encounter-gave-ky-officials-inflated-attendance
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Worst of all for the Ark Park, Hunden said it would yield little economic benefit. Assuming AiG stuck by its plan to build a purely religious attraction, it would generate just $4.9 million over 10 years – when you factor in that Kentucky still plans to build an $11 million road upgrade purely to benefit the Ark Park. At that rate, it would take a little over 37 years (!) just for the state to break even on its $18 million investment.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Americans United has long been skeptical that Ark Encounter, a proposed theme park in Kentucky that will feature a 510-foot replica of Noah’s Ark, could ever live up to the enormous projected attendance figures claimed by its leadership in order to secure public assistance. As it turns out, the numbers submitted by Ark Encounter were indeed <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/danthropology/2015/01/official-report-finds-ark-encounter-executives-inflated-attendance-projections/">wildly inflated</a>.</p><p>Ark Encounter, which is a project of the creationist ministry Answers in Genesis (AiG), had to submit attendance projections as part of its application for an $18.25 million tax rebate through the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. AiG was <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/bluegrass-bonanza-ky-officials-reject-ark-park-s-request-for-18-million-tax">ultimately denied</a> that generous tax break thanks in part to a letter from Americans United informing Kentucky officials that the Ark Park, which AiG described as “evangelistic,” intended to only hire employees who would submit a “[c]reation belief statement,” as well as “[c]onfirmation of [their] agreement with the AiG Statement of Faith.”</p><p>Now, thanks to an open records request by Ed Hensley of the Kentucky Secular Society, we know that AiG was less than truthful in at least a portion of its application. Ark Encounter claimed it would have 1.2 to 2 million visitors annually. This included an estimate of over 1.6 million visitors in the park’s first year.</p><p>But the reality is nowhere near that high. Kentucky sent AiG’s application out for review, and Hunden Strategic Partners in Chicago determined that if the Ark Park remained a purely religious attraction, it would generate about 325,000 visitors its first year, rise to 425,000 in its third year and eventually fall to 275,000 by its seventh year in business. This would mean the Ark Park could create about 514 jobs, Hunden said.</p><p>Were AiG to pursue “a mainstream approach to the attraction,” Hunden estimated it could draw just under 500,000 visitors in year one, 640,000 visitors in year three, then drop off to about 400,000 by year seven. Hunden estimated 787 jobs would be created if that scenario played out.</p><p>(It’s not likely that AiG would make its project more secular. After all, it has said that the purpose of the park is to “point people to the only means of salvation from sin, the Lord Jesus Christ, who also is the only God-appointed way to escape eternal destruction.”)</p><p>So why such wildly different estimates, you may ask? Hunden said AiG’s projection applied to its original proposal from 2010, when it sought a $172 million project that would have been “a multi-day attraction.” Instead, the scaled-down $73 million proposal from 2014 is pretty much just the ark along with a petting zoo, theater, two dining facilities and a retail store.</p><p>But that isn’t the whole story. Hunden also noted that AiG’s estimate was provided by the South Carolina-based America’s Research Group, which has ties to AiG head Ken Ham.</p><p>“The president of America’s Research Group is Britt Beemer, who is also a co-author with Ken Ham on the book <em>Already Gone</em>,” Hunden said in its report. “Furthermore, research by Beemer and America’s Research Group is featured in <em>Already Compromised</em>, another book authored by Ken Ham.”</p><p>Worst of all for the Ark Park, Hunden said it would yield little economic benefit. Assuming AiG stuck by its plan to build a purely religious attraction, it would generate just $4.9 million over 10 years – when you factor in that Kentucky still plans to build an $11 million road upgrade purely to benefit the Ark Park. At that rate, it would take a little over 37 years (!) just for the state to break even on its $18 million investment. </p><p>Ever-delusional, Ham stuck by AiG’s original numbers and claimed the Ark Park will be just great because it appeals to a wide range of people – even though it would only offer an evangelical Christian perspective. </p><p>“That’s pretty good research,” <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/01/21/ark-park-attendance-projections-reduced-report-finds/22104537/">Ham told</a> the Louisville <em>Courier-Journal</em>. “And the ark has a much wider appeal (than the Creation Museum.). If we can get 400,000 for the Creation Museum, you know that ark is going to get a lot more than that.”</p><p>The problem for Ham is that AiG’s other big project, the Creation Museum, <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/april-2014-church-state/people-events/ky-ark-park-will-launch-again-creationist-leader">isn’t drawing so well</a>. The number of people who visit the museum each year has declined since it opened, peaking at 404,000 in 2007 and falling to 254,074 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012. In fact, AiG decided in 2013 to install <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/zip-line-evangelism-creation-museum-opens-non-religious-exhibits-to-expand">zip lines</a> at the Creation Museum in an attempt to reach a wider audience. (The last time I checked, there were no zip lines in the Bible.)</p><p>Americans United has said all along that Kentucky should have no official involvement with Ark Encounter, and every bit of new evidence that comes out only bolsters our case. Ham’s ship has been floating on a sea of falsehoods, and it may soon slip beneath the waves.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/answers-genesis">Answers in Genesis</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-encounter">Ark Encounter</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-park">Ark Park</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ken-ham">Ken Ham</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kentucky-tourism-cabinet">Kentucky Tourism Cabinet</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/hunden-strategic-partners">Hunden Strategic Partners</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/americas-research-group">America&#039;s Research Group</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/britt-breemer">Britt Breemer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/kentucky">Kentucky</a></span></div></div>Thu, 22 Jan 2015 19:02:47 +0000Simon Brown10825 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/boatload-of-lies-ark-encounter-gave-ky-officials-inflated-attendance#commentsGood Incentives Gone Awry: Kentucky Officials Are Adamant About Propping Up The ‘Ark Park’ https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/good-incentives-gone-awry-kentucky-officials-are-adamant-about-propping-up
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ken Ham and his pals have every right to build and operate the Ark Park on their own time with their own dime. But that’s not what they’re doing. From the beginning of this enterprise, they have sought to tap the taxpayers’ wallets for their fundamentalist theme park.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>I’ve lived in the Washington, D.C., suburbs since 1986, so when it comes to museums, I am spoiled. Just a short subway ride away is the National Mall, lined with the Smithsonian museums. They are an incredible national treasure.</p><p>When I’m traveling, I try to take some time to visit local museums as well. When my children were younger, we never missed a science museum. Several cities have them now. Not only are science museums a great educational resource, they can also be a significant income generator for communities.</p><p>I understand the pull of museums. What I don’t understand is why officials in some parts of the country can’t seem to differentiate between a professional science museum and a tawdry tourist trap run by fundamentalist zealots.</p><p>Consider the case of the “Ark Park” in Kentucky. An outgrowth of the Creation Museum, the Ark Park – an attraction that will supposedly feature a replica of Noah’s Ark (more accurately, a replica of what some fundamentalist believes Noah’s Ark looked like) – has been mired in controversy for years.</p><p>The attraction is clearly designed to promote fundamentalist views of the Bible, views that stand in sharp contrast to modern science. The man behind the park, Australian creationist Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis, seems to have, at best, shaky funding for the enterprise.</p><p>Yet despite all of this, Kentucky officials are rushing to pledge taxpayer support for the park. Most recently, the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Board <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/07/31/336875461/kentucky-buoys-noahs-ark-park-with-millions-in-new-tax-breaks">voted unanimously last week</a> to approve a package of tax breaks for the park, which is formally known as the Ark Encounter. The incentives total $18 million.</p><p>The park is supposed to be built in Williamstown, a small city with a population of about 3,200. Williamstown and surrounding Grant County are facing tough economic times, so it’s understandable that state officials want to help out the folks there. But surely they can do better than this. Even if the park comes to pass, it’s most likely going to offer seasonal, part-time and low-wage jobs.</p><p>Notice I said “if the park comes to pass.” It’s a big if. Ham has pushed back the ground-breaking for the park several times, and the project is mired in an <a href="https://www.au.org/church-state/julyaugust-2014-church-state/people-events/creationist-ark-park-in-ky-sailing-into">ongoing controversy over funding</a>.</p><p>There’s a legitimate question of whether Ham and his gang can even pull off this attraction. Attendance at Ham’s Creation Museum <a href="http://citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-26546-creation_museum_atte.html">has been in decline</a>, leading some people to speculate that the audience for these types of fundamentalist-tinged tourist sites may be limited.</p><p>A real science museum is able to offer new exhibits and attractions because actual scientists are always making new discoveries and adding to our understanding of human evolution and the development of the universe. At the Creation Museum, there’s no room for new research because the Bible is treated as the final word. Thus, displays tend to be static.</p><p>Just to be clear: Ham and his pals have every right to build and operate the Ark Park on their own time with their own dime. But that’s not what they’re doing. From the beginning of this enterprise, they have sought to tap the taxpayers’ wallets for their fundamentalist theme park. That’s not right. The goal of the Ark Encounter is to persuade people that Ham’s view of Christianity is true and that they ought to adopt it. The government has no business helping Ham proselytize.</p><p>Attorneys at Americans United are examining the Kentucky Constitution and the laws of the state to determine if the type of aid being extended to the Ark Park is legal. In the meantime, the state legislature has the power to deny the aid package.</p><p>Kentucky’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Greg Stumbo (D-Prestonsburg) has already <a href="http://www.kentucky.com/2014/07/30/3358423/stumbo-state-tax-incentives-for.html">expressed skepticism</a> about the plan. Stumbo called the aid package problematic “because it erects a monument with the help of state money theoretically that is recognized by a majority religion in this country.”</p><p>Here’s hoping more lawmakers agree. And let’s also hope they come to realize that propping up attractions like this only serves to embarrass the commonwealth. It’s also detrimental to Kentucky’s bottom line. Companies based in high-tech and science have good jobs to offer. Will they come to Kentucky if that state has a reputation for promoting anti-science views?</p><p>Kentucky officials should find a real engine for economic growth in Grant County – one that is anchored in actual science would be best. </p><p> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ken-ham">Ken Ham</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/answers-genesis">Answers in Genesis</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-encounter">Ark Encounter</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-park">Ark Park</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kentucky">kentucky</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/greg-stumbo">Greg Stumbo</a></span></div></div>Mon, 04 Aug 2014 15:14:07 +0000Rob Boston10348 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/good-incentives-gone-awry-kentucky-officials-are-adamant-about-propping-up#commentsSinking Ship?: Creationist Ministry Continues To Over-Promise On Ky. ‘Ark Park’https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/sinking-ship-creationist-ministry-continues-to-over-promise-on-ky-ark-park
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Misguided Kentucky lawmakers promised Ham piles of cash starting in 2010 because they believed Ark Encounter would eventually bring in tourists and create jobs. It’s been almost four years, and AiG hasn’t generated a single dollar or job for Kentucky. Ken Ham will surely keep his con going for as long as he can, but Kentucky has no reason to stick with this sinking ship.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>P.T. Barnum, founder of the Barnum &amp; Bailey Circus, promoted <a href="http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/display/category/p.t._barnum">a number of hoaxes</a> in his day. He <a href="http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2011/08/the-hoax-is-on-you-a-short-question-about-a-tall-tale/">probably never said</a> “there’s a sucker born every minute,” but it seems he embraced that idea throughout his career. Now, it appears Barnum has an ideological descendant in Ken Ham, head of a creationist ministry that is trying to build a full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark in Kentucky.</p><p>If you’re a frequent reader of this blog, you know all about Ham and his Answers in Genesis (AiG), which already runs the embarrassing Creation Museum in Kentucky (where kids are taught that humans once co-existed with dinosaurs). For years, Ham has been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/noahs-ark-theme-park_n_3367579.html">trying to open a second theme park</a> in the Blue Grass State called Ark Encounter, complete with a 510-foot replica of the famous biblical boat.</p><p>The main problem with Ham’s overtly religious pet project is it seems to be <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/has-the-ark-park-run-aground-ky-biblical-theme-park-has-only-weeks-to-raise">a magnet for taxpayer dollars</a>. First, Kentucky officials committed more than $40 million in tax incentives to the Ark Park. Sadly that was just the beginning. Later, the Kentucky legislature planned to spend $2 million on a road project in a rural area, seemingly for the sole benefit of the proposed Ark Park.</p><p>But even those generous incentives weren’t enough for misguided lawmakers. The city of Williamstown, which had already granted a 75 percent property tax break for the park, decided last year that it would sell $62 million in municipal bonds on behalf of AiG affiliates.</p><p>All told, various government entities in Kentucky have planned to give the Ark Park, which was originally supposed to cost about $175 million, an astounding $100 million (or more) in <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/leaky-boat-kentucky-officials-labor-to-keep-struggling-ark-park-from">various types of public support</a>. Recent reports, however, cast serious doubt on just how much of that money, if any, will reach the project.</p><p>It seems Ham’s ever-changing timeline has finally caught up with him. He said in January 2011 that work would begin on the Ark Park that spring; then in May of that year, AiG said groundbreaking would be over the summer; in June, AiG said construction would begin in August; and by early August 2011, AiG still had not broken ground but promised that it would happen “in the next few months.”</p><p>Then in late August 2011, AiG bumped the timetable way back, saying groundbreaking would begin in the spring of 2012. That did not happen, either.</p><p>Louisville’s <em>LEO Weekly</em> <a href="http://fatlip.leoweekly.com/2014/05/30/ken-hams-dinosaur-boat-isnt-receiving-43-million-in-tax-incentives-from-kentucky-and-might-not-receive-any/">reported last week</a> that the large tax incentive package promised to the Ark Park back in May 2011 by Kentucky’s Tourism Cabinet came with one little catch: an expiration date. The agreement says that AiG can receive a 25 percent tax rebate on the cost of construction once the park opens, provided construction began by May 2014. The discount would be capped at $43 million.</p><p>Gil Lawson, a spokesman for the Tourism Cabinet, told <em>LEO Weekly</em> that Ark Encounter quietly withdrew its old application for a $172 million project on March 28 and instead submitted a $73 million proposal. If that application is approved, and if it is built within the allotted timeframe, that would mean AiG is eligible for $18.25 million in tax incentives, <em>LEO Weekly</em> said.</p><p>But the shrinking tax package doesn’t appear to be Ham’s only problem. In April, the <em>Cincinnati Enquirer</em> reported that the local road improvements needed to handle all the traffic that will supposedly rush to Ark Encounter (if it ever opens) <a href="http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/04/15/road-budget/7733147/">will be pushed back to 2017</a>. That’s a bit of a problem for Ham, who last claimed that the park would open in the summer of 2016. Perhaps he wants park visitors to have an authentic Bible experience by walking or riding camels to see the ark. </p><p>There is also some mystery surrounding the <a href="http://wfae.org/post/funding-could-dry-kentuckys-noahs-ark-theme-park">$62 million in municipal bonds</a> that supposedly rescued Ham’s project. The Louisville<em> Courier-Journal</em> reported in January that while $26.5 million in bonds had been sold, the city needed to sell an additional $29 million by Feb. 6 or else those who already bought bonds would be able to collect on their investment immediately.</p><p>The city would not say exactly how much money was raised, the <em>Courier-Journal</em> reported in late February, but AiG’s website claims the bonds actually yielded $73 million. AiG also claims it has raised $15 million on its own.</p><p>Despite these setbacks, Ham presses on. His latest ploy appears to be keeping up the hoax that the Ark Park is under construction. In February, he <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/ark-park-back-afloat-creationist-groups-says-ground-will-be-broken-on">said groundbreaking would begin</a> in May. On May 1, AiG hosted a “groundbreaking ceremony” at the site where the park is supposed to be built, but the “groundbreaking” consisted of a handful of men in suits using wooden mallets to hammer wooden pegs into wooden boards. This all took place inside an auditorium, which doesn’t look much like a theme park. (You can watch this <a href="http://thegenesisfoundation-wi.org/ark-encounter-ground-breaking/">exciting video here</a>, but be warned – it’s over 40 minutes long.)</p><p>It is now June, and it remains unclear whether or not construction has actually started on Ark Encounter. AiG’s website says its “construction management team” is <a href="https://arkencounter.com/contractors/">still soliciting bids from contractors</a>, suggesting that no real progress will be made anytime soon.</p><p>Misguided Kentucky lawmakers promised Ham piles of cash starting in 2010 because they believed Ark Encounter would eventually bring in tourists and create jobs. It’s been almost four years, and AiG hasn’t generated a single dollar or job for Kentucky. Ham will surely keep his con going for as long as he can, but Kentucky has no reason to stick with this sinking ship.</p><p>In February Ham proclaimed, “Let’s build the ark.” Let him build it if he can, but with money AiG raises on its own. It’s long past time for Kentucky to pull the plug on this boat to nowhere, and we hope it finally will. </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ken-ham">Ken Ham</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/answers-genesis">Answers in Genesis</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-encounter">Ark Encounter</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-park">Ark Park</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/pt-barnum">PT Barnum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/kentucky">Kentucky</a></span></div></div>Mon, 02 Jun 2014 18:14:26 +0000Simon Brown10115 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/sinking-ship-creationist-ministry-continues-to-over-promise-on-ky-ark-park#comments‘Ark Park’ Back Afloat?: Creationist Groups Says Ground Will Be Broken On Biblical Theme Park In Mayhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/ark-park-back-afloat-creationist-groups-says-ground-will-be-broken-on
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">So what makes Ham think the “Ark Park” construction can begin in May? We’re not sure, because the math surrounding the project remains fuzzy at best.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It seems reports of the demise of Kentucky’s infamous “Ark Park” have been greatly exaggerated – or at least that’s what the project’s head <a href="http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/ark/ark-bond-offering-succeeds">would like us to believe</a>.</p><p>Americans United has followed the saga of Ark Encounter, which is the brainchild of the creationist ministry Answers in Geneses (AiG), for several years. We took an interest because AiG has sought financial help from both the state of Kentucky and the town where the park is supposed to be built – even though it is a fundamentalist outfit that seeks to promote creationism and debunk evolution.</p><p>Ark Encounter, which is supposed to feature a 510-foot replica of Noah’s Ark, has been an unmitigated disaster from the start. Yet misguided Kentucky lawmakers keep making efforts to plug the leaky project’s holes.</p><p>Now, after years of delays, AiG President Ken Ham <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/27/ark-encounter-theme-park/5881323/">said ground will be broken on the park in May</a>. And this time, he says he really means it.</p><p>“We’re going to begin construction, and this is going to be great for the area,” Ham said in an online announcement. “Let’s build the ark.”</p><p>Ham even gave a rough idea of when the park would open: summer 2016. </p><p>It’s certainly possible that Ham is being honest for once, but it’s pretty <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/has-the-ark-park-run-aground-ky-biblical-theme-park-has-only-weeks-to-raise">tough to trust anything he says </a>when it comes to his pet project. To recap Ham’s ever back-peddling timetable: He said in January 2011 that work would begin that spring; then in May of that year, AiG said groundbreaking would be over the summer; in June, AiG said construction would begin in August; and by early August 2011, AiG still had not broken ground but promised that it would happen “in the next few months.”</p><p>Then in late August 2011, AiG bumped the timetable way back, saying groundbreaking would begin in the spring of 2012.</p><p>So what makes Ham think the “Ark Park” construction can begin in May? We’re not sure, because the math surrounding the project remains fuzzy at best. Back in November, the city of Williamstown, which already gave the overtly religious park a 75 percent property tax break, decided it would sell $62 million in municipal bonds starting in December for AiG affiliates.</p><p>That hasn’t quite worked out. The Louisville<em> Courier-Journal</em> reported in January that while $26.5 million in bonds had been sold, the city needed to sell an additional $29 million by Feb. 6 or else those who already bought bonds would be able to collect on their investment immediately.</p><p>What happened with that? The city won’t say, the <em>Courier-Journal</em> reported this week. We do know, however, that the project is estimated to cost $120 million and the state said it would generate about $119 million in revenue over 10 years, including sales and income taxes. Even if those numbers are accurate (and they’re assuming the park will get hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, which is dubious at best), that means it would take 11 years for the “Ark Park” to turn a profit. Talk about a slow return on an investment.</p><p>Now you can see why we’re not holding our breath for a May ground breaking. We’re also not confident that the “Ark Park” makes any sense financially for the state given AiG’s track record.</p><p>AiG already owns Kentucky’s embarrassing Creation Museum, where kids are taught that the earth is only 6,000 years old and can “learn” what it was like in the olden days when humans rode around on dinosaurs (which, outside of “The Flintstones,” never happened).</p><p>AiG claims as many as two million people will visit the park in its first year. That seems unlikely. We know that the Creation Museum, which is only seven years old, has already experienced attendance problems. The number of people who visit each year has declined since it opened, peaking at 404,000 in 2007 and falling to 254,074 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012.</p><p>In August, Ham said the museum would add some secular attractions, <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/zip-line-evangelism-creation-museum-opens-non-religious-exhibits-to-expand">such as zip lines</a>, in order to attract a wider audience. That’s fine and well for the museum, but what does that say about the ability of a religious attraction to draw visitors and make money?</p><p>The “Ark Park’s” problems are real, from both a fiscal standpoint and a church-state perspective. The negative press Ham has gotten isn’t just some witch hunt, but that’s not how he sees it. Ham, who claims that “God has burdened AiG to rebuild a full-size Noah’s Ark,” once again went out of his way to bash the press. In his announcement that construction would begin on the park in May, he denounced reporters and “atheist bloggers” for supposed “distortions” about the project.</p><p>Just to be clear: Ham is within his rights to build a fundamentalist theme park. What concerns us is that Kentucky seems determined to prop up the project at every turn despite its obvious sectarian overtones and growing evidence that it will never pan out. And even if the “Ark Park” one day gets afloat, what kind of jobs will it bring? Seems like mostly seasonal work that pays low wages and offers no benefits. That is hardly worth massive tax breaks.</p><p>Kentucky lawmakers are wasting their time on this project. They’d best pull the plug immediately, or they’re going down with Ham’s ship.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-encounter">Ark Encounter</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/answers-genesis">Answers in Genesis</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ken-ham">Ken Ham</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-park">Ark Park</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/unrated-municipal-bond">unrated municipal bond</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/kentucky">Kentucky</a></span></div></div>Fri, 28 Feb 2014 17:20:13 +0000Simon Brown9688 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/ark-park-back-afloat-creationist-groups-says-ground-will-be-broken-on#commentsHas The ‘Ark Park’ Run Aground?: Ky. Biblical Theme Park Has Only Weeks To Raise Millionshttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/has-the-ark-park-run-aground-ky-biblical-theme-park-has-only-weeks-to-raise
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Kentucky has already wasted a lot of money on what increasingly looks like a boat that’s going nowhere. Tossing more money at this project isn’t going to save it; it’s only going to waste more money. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>The drama surrounding Kentucky’s infamous “Ark Park” may soon be at an end amid reports that the biblical theme park is <a href="http://wfae.org/post/funding-could-dry-kentuckys-noahs-ark-theme-park">running out of time</a> to raise the money it needs to get afloat.</p><p>Ark Encounter is the brainchild of Answers in Geneses (AiG), a fundamentalist ministry that seeks to promote creationism and debunk evolution. AiG already owns Kentucky’s embarrassing Creation Museum, where kids are taught that the earth is only 6,000 years old and can “learn” what it was like in the olden days when humans rode around on dinosaurs (which, outside of “The Flintstones,” never happened).</p><p>Ark Encounter, which is supposed to feature a 510-foot replica of Noah’s Ark, has been nothing less than <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/leaky-boat-kentucky-officials-labor-to-keep-struggling-ark-park-from">a disaster from the beginning</a> – even though misguided Kentucky lawmakers have made every effort to plug the leaky project’s holes.</p><p>Kentucky has already committed more than $40 million in tax incentives to the Ark Park. Gov. Steve Beshear (D) has backed this project under the guise that it will create jobs, but that doesn’t make this gift any less fiscally irresponsible. A park like this might create some low-wage, part-time, seasonal work – but those types of jobs are hardly worth a massive incentive package.</p><p>(As an aside, studies show that special tax breaks for individual businesses rarely bear fruit. Corporations take many things into account when deciding where to open shop, and taxes are a fairly small factor in those decisions. Much more important to a business are the available real estate, labor force and number of potential customers in an area.)</p><p>The Kentucky legislature even planned to spend $2 million <a href="https://au.org/media/press-releases/kentucky-legislature-should-delete-budget-funding-to-benefit-%E2%80%98ark-park%E2%80%99-says">on a road project in a rural area</a>, seemingly for the sole benefit of the proposed Ark Park.</p><p>But of course all that assistance wasn’t nearly enough. According to multiple reports in <em>LEO Weekly</em> (a Louisville publication), AiG said in January 2011 that ground would be broken on the project that spring. Then in May of that year, AiG said groundbreaking would be over the summer. In June, AiG said construction would begin in August. By early August AiG still had not broken ground but promised that it would happen “in the next few months.”</p><p>Then in late August 2011, AiG bumped the timetable way back, saying groundbreaking would begin in the spring of 2012.</p><p>Last we heard, AiG President Ken Ham said he hopes the Ark Park will open in 2016. Now it looks like even that is unrealistic because a last-ditch effort to save the project with municipal bonds is going nowhere.</p><p>Americans United noted in November that the city of Williamstown, which already gave the overtly religious park a 75 percent property tax break, decided it would sell $62 million in municipal bonds starting in December for AiG affiliates.</p><p>That hasn’t quite worked out. The Louisville<em> Courier-Journal</em> reported last week that while $26.5 million in bonds have been sold already, the city must sell an additional $29 million by Feb. 6 or else those who already bought bonds will be able to collect on their investment immediately.</p><p>Perhaps the types of people who can afford large municipal bonds are a bit hesitant to invest in this taxpayer-supported biblical scheme given that Williamstown’s bonds are unrated. That means they are the <a href="http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2012/08/the-untold-story-of-municipal-bond-defaults.html">riskiest type of bond offering</a>, and the odds that the city will default on them are expected to be pretty high. Bloomberg News reported that the bond offering documents list 39 risks for investors, including the fact that AiG <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-03/noah-s-ark-risks-collapse-without-bond-buyers-by-february.html">has no obligation to pay off the debt</a>. Instead, Bloomberg said, bond holders would earn a return only when customers spend cash at the park.</p><p>Ham, whose $73 million “Ark Park” is now three years behind schedule, seems to be in a panic. In an email obtained by <em>LEO</em>, Ham <a href="http://fatlip.leoweekly.com/2014/01/06/ken-ham-ark-encounter-close-to-failure-because-of-atheists-secular-media-and-possibly-the-devil-himself/">made a bunch of excuses</a> for why his ship is sinking. It’s not his fault, of course.</p><p>“As you have read in some of my prior emails, many challenges and road blocks came up as we worked through the stages of the bond offering and the first closing,” he wrote. “From atheists attempting to register for the bond offering and disrupting it, to secular bloggers and reporters writing very misleading and inaccurate articles about the bonds, to brokerage firms saying ‘yes’ but after reading these incorrect reports saying ‘no’ in allowing the Ark bonds into their client accounts – the obstacles were numerous and disruptive. Frankly, it has been an extremely stressful and frustrating time for all of us.”</p><p>Are atheists and bloggers to blame for Ham’s failures? Hardly. More likely, it’s a fragile economy combined with the fact that the “Ark Park” just isn’t a good idea. </p><p>Kentucky has already wasted a lot of money on what increasingly looks like a boat that’s going nowhere. Tossing more money at this project isn’t going to save it; it’s only going to waste more money. Let’s hope that if this desperate bond ploy fails in February, the state finally cuts its ties with AiG.</p><p>If Ham can raise the money for his theme park on his own, let him do so. But leave Kentucky taxpayers out of it. They’ve suffered enough already.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-encounter">Ark Encounter</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/answers-genesis">Answers in Genesis</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ken-ham">Ken Ham</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gov-steve-beshear">Gov. Steve Beshear</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-park">Ark Park</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/unrated-municipal-bond">unrated municipal bond</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/kentucky">Kentucky</a></span></div></div>Tue, 07 Jan 2014 17:43:52 +0000Simon Brown9552 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/has-the-ark-park-run-aground-ky-biblical-theme-park-has-only-weeks-to-raise#commentsLeaky Boat: Kentucky Officials Labor To Keep Struggling ‘Ark Park’ From Sinkinghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/leaky-boat-kentucky-officials-labor-to-keep-struggling-ark-park-from
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">It seems Kentucky lawmakers are bound and determined to do everything they can to stop from folding what surely looks like a losing hand.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Kentucky lawmakers seem to be doing all they can to plug holes in the perpetually leaky “Ark Park.”</p><p>We haven’t heard a whole lot lately about Ark Encounter, a proposed Christian fundamentalist theme park that’s built around a 510-foot replica of Noah’s Ark. That’s because the project has sailed into a sea of trouble.</p><p>The Ark Park is spearheaded by Answers in Geneses (AiG), a fundamentalist ministry that seeks to promote creationism and debunk evolution. AiG owns Kentucky’s perpetually embarrassing Creation Museum, an attraction where kids <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/williac/1036693826/">can be photographed</a> sitting in a saddle atop a replica triceratops. (Just like the cave people did – or not) </p><p>Ark Encounter <a href="https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/sinking-ship-kentucky-%E2%80%9Cark-park%E2%80%9D-faces-funding-shortfalls-delayed">has faced one problem after another.</a> According to multiple reports in <em>LEO Weekly</em> (a Louisville publication), AiG said in January 2011 that ground would be broken on the project that spring. Then in May of that year, AiG said groundbreaking would be over the summer. In June, AiG said construction would begin in August. By early August AiG still had not broken ground but promised that it would happen “in the next few months.”</p><p>Then in late August 2011, AiG bumped the timetable way back, saying groundbreaking would begin in the spring of 2012.</p><p>Last we heard, AiG President Ken Ham said he hopes the Ark Park will open in 2016.</p><p>In the meantime, AiG continues to take donations even though it is well short of the total it needs to build its theme park. According to <em>LEO Weekly</em>, the project had received just $4.3 million of the $24.5 million sought as of late 2011.</p><p>So what are the lawmakers who have backed this loony scheme going to do now? It seems they are bound and determined to do everything they can to stop from folding what surely looks like a losing hand.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-11-14/noah-s-ark-depends-on-faith-in-default-plagued-debt-muni-credit">The latest ploy comes</a> courtesy of the city of Williamstown, which is not far from Cincinnati. The town already gave the overtly religious park a 75 percent property tax break, and Bloomberg News reported this week that the city plans to sell $62 million in municipal bonds in December for AiG affiliates. This means the city is actively taking on quite a bit of debt for the sole purpose of funding the Ark Park.</p><p>Anyone “generous” enough to buy $100,000 worth of these bonds will receive a lifetime pass to Ark Encounter for his or her family, Bloomberg said.</p><p>But the bond offering is far from the only government-backed bailout measure intended to get Ark Encounter up and running.</p><p>Kentucky has already committed more than $40 million in tax incentives to this project. The state allocated this support even though the park is the brainchild of a prominent fundamentalist Christian ministry that believes the Earth is only 6,000 years old, that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time and that unicorns once existed – ideas utterly rejected by mainstream science.</p><p>Gov. Steve Beshear (D) has backed this project under the guise that it will create jobs. A park like this might create some low-wage, part-time, seasonal work – but those types of jobs are hardly worth a $40 million incentive package.</p><p>The Kentucky legislature also <a href="https://au.org/media/press-releases/kentucky-legislature-should-delete-budget-funding-to-benefit-%E2%80%98ark-park%E2%80%99-says">planned to spend $2 million on a road project</a> in a rural area, seemingly for the sole benefit of the proposed Ark Park.</p><p>Despite all the problems the Ark Park has thus far brought to Kentucky, Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner told Bloomberg he has “a lot of faith” in AiG’s attendance projections for the park.</p><p>Skinner is going to need that faith, because increasingly it looks like Ark Encounter will never open. If it ever does, it ought to be subsidized by private investors and true believers, not indirectly by the people of Kentucky.</p><p>It seems Kentucky has wasted its money on a “job-creating” venture that will never bear any fruit. Misguided legislators need to face up to an unpleasant truth: This ark is on a cruise to nowhere. It’s time to cut it loose.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-encounter">Ark Encounter</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/answers-genesis">Answers in Genesis</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ken-ham">Ken Ham</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gov-steve-beshear">Gov. Steve Beshear</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/williamstown-mayor-rick-skinner">Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-park">Ark Park</a></span></div></div>Fri, 15 Nov 2013 18:35:06 +0000Simon Brown9156 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/leaky-boat-kentucky-officials-labor-to-keep-struggling-ark-park-from#commentsZip Line Evangelism: Creation Museum Opens ‘Non-Religious’ Exhibits To Expand Audience https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/zip-line-evangelism-creation-museum-opens-non-religious-exhibits-to-expand
<a href="/about/people/ms-sarah-jones">Sarah Jones</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> According to the Dayton Daily News, Ham believes this new “family fun adventure” will appeal to a wide audience. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Falling visitor <a href="http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-26546-creation_museum_atte.html">rates</a> at the infamous Creation Museum in Kentucky have resulted in some ingenuity on the part of its founder, Ken Ham.<br /><br />In a bid to attract more visitors, Ham, who is also the president of Answers in Genesis and professes to be a scientist despite holding only a bachelor’s degree in applied science, has overseen the development of a new, allegedly non-religious exhibit. According to the <em>Dayton Daily News</em>, Ham <a href="http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/creationist-museum-aims-at-wider-audience/nZLpj/">believes</a> this new “family fun adventure” will appeal to a wide audience.<br /><br />“That’s what we wanted to see, because it will bring in a broader range of people in here and provide something for the community as well – they don’t have to go to the Creation Museum, they can just come for the zip lines,” Ham told the newspaper.<br /><br />Ham may want us to come for the zip lines, but we’re not so easily fooled. This isn’t the beginning of a new and more scientifically accurate phase for the Creation Museum. It’s marketing. It might be milder, but fundamentalist evangelism packaged as a family friendly adventure is still evangelism. The museum’s other new exhibits make Ham’s claims to inclusivity especially suspect. <br /><br />Lest we think he’s lost his touch for pseudoscience, behold Dr. Crawley’s Insectorium. Donated by a supporter, this new exhibit features hundreds of beetles, butterflies and other insects – and an animatronic professor who tells visitors that the insects are just too complex to have evolved.<br /><br />And consider the Ark Encounter. Stalled for now thanks to other new exhibits, it’s still in the works; Ham told the newspaper that he hopes to open it in 2016. The Ark Encounter will, as its name suggests, feature a replica ark based on biblical literalist interpretations of the Book of Genesis.<br /><br />If you follow us, you might remember the Ark Encounter. In 2011, Americans United vehemently <a href="http://www.kentucky.com/2010/12/02/1548034/creation-museum-to-get-wooden.html">opposed</a> Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear’s <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/ark-encounter-kentucky-budget-tax-breaks_n_1220806.html">plan</a> to give a $43 million tax break to the Ark Encounter. Beshear eventually approved the tax break. Two years later, the people of Kentucky have yet to reap the alleged benefits of this project – and I imagine that building it has been quite the task, given Ham’s <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/dinosaurs-were-on-noahs-ark-says-creationist-ken-ham-101701/">conviction</a> that two of every dinosaur on Earth fit into the boat in question.<br /><br />So the Creation Museum obviously hasn’t changed its focus. It’s as religiously motivated as ever, and its new zip lines were never intended to change that. As blogger Hemant Mehta observed, the museum’s new seeker-friendly exhibit exists “…for the same reason evangelical megachurches have amazing bands open their worship sessions – it has nothing to do with the service itself, but it might draw in a different crowd.”<br /><br />Ken Ham’s definition of inclusivity is as creative as his definition of science. He may say that his new non-religious exhibit is intended for the entire community, but as long as the rest of his museum is intended to convert visitors that gesture doesn’t mean much.<br /> </p><p>His entire career has centered on peddling suspect science as a conversion tactic. He’s <a href="http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/wwtl">referred</a> to Darwinism as a “philosophy of death” and actively encourages churches to use attacks on evolution as an instrument of evangelism.<br /><br />Ham is entitled to evangelize however he wants, but he’s not entitled to tax breaks to help fund his fundamentalist roadside attraction. And if he’s concerned about dwindling numbers, maybe he should be honest enough to admit that what he’s pushing isn’t science, it’s typical biblical fundamentalism.</p><p>Maybe, just maybe, the reason for the museum’s drop in visitors isn’t poor marketing. Maybe the anti-intellectualism Ham peddles is finally losing its cultural sway. That’s my hope.</p><p>And if that’s the case, even fancy zip lines won’t be enough to save the Creation Museum from itself.<br /> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions (not including schools)</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ken-ham">Ken Ham</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/answers-genesis">Answers in Genesis</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-encounters">Ark Encounters</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kentucky">kentucky</a></span></div></div>Tue, 13 Aug 2013 16:19:53 +0000Ms. Sarah Jones8860 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/zip-line-evangelism-creation-museum-opens-non-religious-exhibits-to-expand#comments'Ark Encounter', Noah's Ark Theme Park, Hopes To Show Biblical Flood Was 'Plausible'https://www.au.org/media/in-the-news/ark-encounter-noahs-ark-theme-park-hopes-to-show-biblical-flood-was-plausible
<div class="field field-name-field-news-source field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Reuters</div></div></div>Tue, 04 Jun 2013 19:00:53 +0000Joseph L. Conn8634 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/media/in-the-news/ark-encounter-noahs-ark-theme-park-hopes-to-show-biblical-flood-was-plausible#commentsA Critic’s Critique: Roger Ebert Gave ‘Two Thumbs Up’ To The Church-State Wallhttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/a-critic-s-critique-roger-ebert-gave-two-thumbs-up-to-the-church-state-wall
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Film critic Roger Ebert was a great defender of the separation of church and state. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>I’ll admit it: I enjoy reading scathing reviews of books and films. Critics are called that for a reason. When it’s time to be critical, some of them really know how to put it out there.</p><p>Consider Roger Ebert. The long-time movie reviewer for the Chicago <em>Sun-Times</em> didn’t hold back when he was forced to sit through a bad film.</p><p>Here he is commenting on a 1987 romantic comedy called “One Woman Or Two”: “Add it all up, and what you've got here is a waste of good electricity. I'm not talking about the electricity between the actors. I'm talking about the current to the projector.”</p><p>When the sci-fi non-epic “Battlefield Earth” was released in 2000, Ebert was not impressed. “’Battlefield Earth’ is like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed a bath for a long time,” he wrote. “It’s not merely bad; it’s unpleasant in a hostile way.”</p><p>Ebert, who <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/showbiz/roger-ebert-obituary/index.html">died yesterday</a> at age 70 after a battle with cancer, was, thanks to his frequent TV appearances, one of the most famous film critics in the nation. But here’s something you might not have known about him: He was a staunch defender of church-state separation.</p><p>Aside from his film reviews, Ebert wrote columns about other topics as well. Last year in an essay titled “Don’t tear down that wall!,” <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012/08/tear_down_that_wall.html">he lamented</a> that too many Americans don’t support church-state separation.</p><p>Ebert was particularly dismayed to see religiously motivated attacks on reproductive rights.</p><p>“I do not propose to discuss the issues of abortion, birth control and in vitro fertilization,” he wrote. “I’m more concerned with those who would pass laws enforcing their religious beliefs. They apparently see no conflict between the laws they propose and the separation of Church and State.</p><p>“What the First Amendment provides is that each and every American is entitled to follow the teachings of the church of their choice, or for that matter no church at all,” Ebert continued. “What if your beliefs, or your church, permit abortion or in vitro fertilization? Are you now to become a criminal? The problem with such laws is that they would legislate the personal religious beliefs of the candidates. The law is well-advised to stand free of such beliefs.”</p><p>In <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/12/new_agers_and_creationists_sho.html">another column</a>, Ebert blasted candidates who mix their religious and political beliefs like a tossed salad – especially biblical creationists.</p><p>“I adamantly support the right of any candidate to profess any faith, or none,” Ebert wrote. He then added, “We can have no patience with a chief executive who professes the value of ancient superstitions in the forming of policy. My only purpose today is to state early and often that if a Presidential candidate believes early humans used saddles to ride on the backs of dinosaurs, as they are depicted at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, that candidate should not be elected President.”</p><p>Here’s Ebert, a graduate of Catholic schools, on <a href="http://surge.ods.org/idle_religion/publicprayer.htm">prayer in schools</a>: “This is really an argument between two kinds of prayer – vertical and horizontal. I don’t have the slightest problem with vertical prayer. It is horizontal prayer that frightens me. Vertical prayer is private, directed upward toward heaven. It need not be spoken aloud, because God is a spirit and has no ears. Horizontal prayer must always be audible, because its purpose is not to be heard by God, but to be heard by fellow men standing within earshot.”</p><p>I’m going to miss Ebert’s film reviews – the positive ones and the scathing ones – and I’m going to miss his insightful commentary on church-state issues. It’s some comfort to know that he left behind an impressive body of work that will be read for many years to come.</p><p>To that, I say, “Two thumbs up!” </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/responding-common-attacks-church-state-separation">Responding to Common Attacks on Church-State Separation</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/history-and-origins-church-state-separation">History and Origins of Church-State Separation</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/roger-ebert">Roger Ebert</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creationism">creationism</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/school-prayer">School Prayer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/religion-and-politics">Religion and politics</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/battlefield-earth">Battlefield Earth</a></span></div></div>Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:51:02 +0000Rob Boston8264 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/a-critic-s-critique-roger-ebert-gave-two-thumbs-up-to-the-church-state-wall#commentsArk Park Earmark: Kentucky Governor Floats Religion-Funding Schemehttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/ark-park-earmark-kentucky-governor-floats-religion-funding-scheme
<a href="/about/people/bathija">Sandhya Bathija</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear thinks it’s a good idea for his state to be the home of Noah’s Ark – one that will <a href="http://barefootandprogressive.blogspot.com/2010/12/steve-beshear-humiliates-state-of.html">include dinosaurs!</a></p>
<p>Beshear announced yesterday his plan to provide tax incentives to the developers of a creationism theme park that will feature a replica of the well-known biblical boat.</p>
<p>The $150 million facility will be a collaboration between Ark Encounters, a private company in Springfield, Mo., and Answers in Genesis, a fundamentalist Christian organization that runs the Creation Museum that opened in Kentucky in 2007.</p>
<p>The park’s developers have searched the country for the best spot for their project. With Beshear’s plan to offer tax incentives that could surpass $37 million, it’s likely they’ve settled on the location where they will get the best deal -- 800 acres in Grant County, Ky.</p>
<p>In addition to the 500-foot-by-75-foot wooden ark, the park will <a href="http://www.governor.ky.gov/pressrelease.htm?PostingGUID={415A07EF-4E0F-488A-AC63-62B43F44385F}">include</a> live animals, a Walled City much like that found in ancient times, a children’s interactive play area, a replica of the Tower of Babel with exhibits, a 500-seat 5-D special-effects theater, an aviary and a first-century Middle Eastern village.</p>
<p>"I think it's fair to say we are all very positive, initially, about this application, and we don't really see any problems in getting it approved," Beshear said, claiming his support for the project is based on the supposed 900 jobs the park will create and has nothing to do with his religious beliefs.</p>
<p>Tourism laws allow developers to recover up to 25 percent of the cost of a project through a rebate on the sales tax paid by visitors on admission tickets, food, gift purchases and lodging costs. Beshear <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20101201/NEWS01/312010087/Beshear+announces+creationism+theme+park+to+open+in+2014++with+$250+million+impact">believes</a> the project will attract 1.6 million visitors a year and have a $214 million economic impact in the first year.</p>
<p>With these potential benefits to the state, Beshear may not have any trouble getting the tax break package approved, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a mistake of biblical proportions.</p>
<p>Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn told the Associated Press why.</p>
<p>"It's perfectly fine for a private group to relaunch Noah's ark, but the governor shouldn't go along for the ride," he said. "The government should not be giving tax incentives for religious projects. Religion should be supported by voluntary donations, not the government."</p>
<p>And AU’s Lynn is not the only one raising an objection.</p>
<p>The Louisville <em>Courier-Journal</em> has <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20101202/OPINION01/312020019">called on</a> Beshear to take a vacation – claiming that “extreme fatigue” is the only way he would think this project was a good idea.</p>
<p>“Even if technically legal (in that the law allowing the tax breaks doesn't discriminate against other religious or anti-religious views),” the newspaper said in an editorial published today, “a state role in a private facility that would be built by a group called Answers in Genesis and espouses a fundamentalist view resting on biblical inerrancy indirectly promotes a religious dogma. That should never be the role of government.”</p>
<p>Putting the constitutional issue aside, Beshear’s support of the park is still cause for concern. Beshear, as a government official, should be encouraging sound science education. Advocating that we teach children that the earth is only 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs and humans coexisted is hardly what science experts advocate.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, subsidies like the tax breaks Beshear suggests have been difficult to challenge in court, and judicial rulings turn on many factors. Still, Americans United’s legal experts will be watching the situation carefully.</p>
<p>Stay tuned.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ark-encounters">Ark Encounters</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creation-museum">Creation Museum</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/creationism">creationism</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/dinosaurs">dinosaurs</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/kentucky">kentucky</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/noahs-ark">Noah&#039;s Ark</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/steve-beshear">Steve Beshear</a></span></div></div>Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:35:05 +0000Sandhya Bathija2488 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/ark-park-earmark-kentucky-governor-floats-religion-funding-scheme#comments